〔𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 ; 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳〕
〔𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?〕

⋆

"TODAY IS BEACH DAY. Basically Michael rented a bus to take us to the beach over by Lake Scranton. I've been told it's pretty relaxing but knowing Michael, that's definitely not the case. But still, it'll be nice to get out of the office for a day." Willow explained to the cameras.

♡

Willow sat at her desk quickly fixing her hair. She wore a snugly fit tan tee with short jean shorts and had a pair of sunglasses on top of her head. When she was satisfied with how she looked, she opened her beach bag and went through it to see if she had everything she needed.

As she finished with what she was doing, Michael exited his office wearing his beach attire.

"Okay, everybody have their towels and swimsuits? We have about an hour and a half. I suggest that you all go potty now and then we will be congregating on the partay bus!" Michael cheered, walking around the office to see how everyone was doing. He strolled over to accounting to chat with them.

"Oscar, you brought your Speedo, I assume?" Michael asked.

"I don't wear a Speedo, Michael." Oscar answered.

"Well, you can't swim in leather pants. I'm just yankin' your chain. Not literally."

"Okay." 

Michael walked in the direction of his office as Toby exited the annex, holding a bottle of sunscreen.

"Anybody need sunblock? Got SPF 30." Toby asked around.

"Oh, you know what? Uh, you're not going." Michael declared.

"It's Beach Day."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Toby. We... um... Somebody has to stay here."

"Michael!" Willow scolded.

"Whaddya mean, 'Michael?'"

"Come on. It's Beach Day."

"Willow, it's okay. Don't worry about it." Toby quickly said to diffuse the situation.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's okay."

♡

"This way to the partay bus!" Michael exclaimed as everyone began getting onto the bus. Willow and Dwight held hands as they entered the bus. They walked to the back where Michael was sitting. Dwight let Willow sit by the window as he sat next to Michael.

On the way, Michael stood and wobbled over to the front of the bus. "Everybody, may I have your attention, please? Today, we are not just spending a day at the beach.

"Oh, sweet mother of God." Stanley grumbled.

"If you don't like it, Stanley, you can go to the back of the bus."

"Excuse me?"

"Or the front of the bus. Or drive the bus. Just, we are all participating in mandatory fun activities. Funtivities! And there is a special secret prize for the winner!"

"Yes! Funtivities! I knew it wasn't just a trip to the beach." Dwight cheered. Willow looked over to him and smiled at her boyfriend's enthusiasm.

"Okay, you know what? Your enthusiasm's turning people off."

"I hope there will be management parables."

"Well..." Michael waved him off and began whispering to Pam. Dwight looked down frowning a bit. Willow kissed him on the cheek and took his hand. His frown soon disappeared as he made eye contact with the woman to his left, giving her a toothy grin. Her heart skipped a beat, smiling at how goofy and cute he looked.

♡

The group arrived at Lake Scranton in a timely manner. Everyone got off the bus and took in the sight of the scenery of the sandy beach and the small lake. Dwight led Willow over to a spot that overlooked the lake. She felt herself beam as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on top of her head. Willow took in a deep breath as she stared out into the water.

Everything about this current moment was perfect to Willow. The calming sound of the babbling brook, the sight of the woods before her and being in the arms of her lover made her feel at peace. She was grateful that she got to experience this with the one she cherished dearly.

"Nature is so beautiful." Willow commented, leaning closer to Dwight's chest.

"It really is." Dwight added, kissing the shorter woman on her temple.

"Alright, find a cozy spot. Everybody settle in." Willow heard Michael say to everyone. She ignored him and continued to stare at the sight before her.

"Okay, everybody up! Circle 'round. That means you two, Willow and Dwight!" Michael ordered, louder. Regrettably, Dwight let go of Willow and took her hand. 

"Let's go." Dwight said, walking his girlfriend over to the group.

"Aww, alright." Willow whined. The couple made their way over to the crowd where Michael was at the center.

"Let us play some games. We are situated on the northeast corner of scenic Lake Scranton. America's eighth-largest indigenous body of water. It is here that a group of Americans will undergo the ultimate challenge. One day, fifteen strangers who work together, but only one survivor."

"What?" Oscar inquired.

"Just words. Inspiring words," Willow sighed as Michael quickly muttered something to himself. "For the competitions, you will be divided into four tribes. Each tribe will have a leader that I will pick randomly off the top of my head without thinking. Jim, Dwight, Andy and Stanley."

"Yes!" Dwight cheered as he hugged Willow.

"Choose your tribes. Except for Pam. Not Pam."

"I choose Michael!"

"I'm not playing."

"Okay, temp."

"I'll go with Willow." Jim chose. Willow smiled and began to walk towards her brother.

"Damn it, Jim! I wanted her on my team!" Dwight complained.

"Well, too late Dwight."

"Come on! This is unfair!"

"OKAY! I'm sorry Michael, I'm not gonna play. You two need to grow up." Willow exclaimed. With a scoff, she walked over to Pam and sat next to her. Dwight reached out to her slightly before turning back to Michael.

♡

The games began with chaos. Willow would occasionally sneak a glance over to Dwight, who was getting too into the games, and Jim, who was simply joking around with Karen. Willow noticed Pam softly scoffing to herself as she continued to take notes.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Willow asked the strawberry blonde. Pam sighed and closed her notebook, tossing it over into her bag.

"I don't know, honestly. Michael keeps pissing me off with everything today and..." Pam let out another sigh as she put her hand through her hair, staring over at Jim and Karen again. Willow immediately knew what was going on and put an arm around her friend.

"Jim?"

"Who else?"

The two fell silent as they watched Jim lead a blindfolded Karen to the lake. Willow sighed as Karen began chasing him around, both of them laughing together.

"What do you think of them?" Willow jumped as she heard Pam's question.

"Huh?"

"You can be honest. I know he's your brother and I know you don't wanna say anything bad but..."

"Honestly? Karen's nice enough but I think their relationship is going nowhere."

"What?"

"Pam, I know my brother. It's way too obvious that Karen's just a rebound. And he may not know it, or he may deny it, but he still has feelings for you. I mean come on. The man's been pining over you for, what, three years? Trust me, he'll come to his senses." 

Pam placed her right hand over her mouth, stunned at Willow's statement. Hearing that from Jim's own sister lifted a huge weight off of her chest. However, she didn't want to force anything out of him.

"Something that's been bothering me is that he's been ignoring me a lot more since he came back. And I know I can't control who he chooses to date but I just want to at least be friends with him. Is that bad?"

"Listen, I may know my brother well, but I'm not him. You should really confront him about this. Come on, what's the worst that'll happen?"

"I guess you're right. Screw it. I'm gonna do it! Thanks, Willow."

"Don't mention it." Willow grinned as she lightly elbowed her friend. Pam gave her a timid smile as she picked up her notebook to continue taking notes for Michael.

♡

Willow stood by the lake with her hands on her hips. She was waiting for Pam to come back from helping Michael out with God knows what. She took the opportunity to look out into the horizon again. 

She wished Dwight was there to take in the beautiful sight with her. Letting out a small sigh, she reached into her bag and took out her camera. She imagined taking a picture of Dwight in the same area as she adjusted herself to take the perfect photo. The soft click of the button made Willow nod, contented with her photo.

Soon thereafter, Pam returned with two large brown bags filled to the brim with uncooked hot dogs. Willow placed her camera back in her bag and looked over to Pam, a giggle daring to escape her lips.

"I... what is that?" Willow asked, grinning.

"He's making me cook eight hundred hotdogs in less than ten minutes." Pam groaned. Willow laughed as she took one of the brown bags and followed Pam to a small barbecue Dwight brought.

As Pam lit the grill and threw on as many hot dogs as she could, Willow let out a small hum.

"Uh, speaking of love, or whatever, I have to tell you something." Willow said.

"What is it?" Pam inquired.

"I've been thinking about this for a while... and I know it may be a bit too soon to think this but..."

"But what?"

"I'm in love with Dwight."

"No way! That's amazing!" Pam squealed as she brought Willow into a hug. Willow smiled slightly before it soon faltered.

"I wanna tell him so badly! But, I don't want to risk anything God forbid he doesn't feel the same." 

"Oh, come on. I mean, I don't know Dwight that well, but I'm sure he'll be over the moon when you tell him. He adores you."

"Agh, I don't know..."

"Do it. You won't have anything to lose. At worse he could just say it later."

"But-"

"Hey. If I tell Jim how I feel with him, then you can tell Dwight how you feel." Pam held out her hand for Willow to shake as if they were making a deal of some sort. Willow thought about it for a bit before shaking her friend's hand.

"Okay, Beesly. Deal." Willow smirked. The women giggled as they continued to try and cook the hot dogs.

♡

"Okay! Who's hungry?" Michael exclaimed. Everyone was seated at a large table draped with a red table cloth. There were paper plates, plastic cups and three metal containers filled to the brim with the hotdogs Willow and Pam cooked earlier. Kevin reached over for a hot dog before being scolded by Michael.

"No, no, no. Do not touch the food. Please. Not yet. That is our next event. A hot dog eating contest. For those of you who are curious, the world record is fifty-four and one half hot dogs. Wow! And you know what? I personally have cooked up enough so each and every one of you could break that record." Michael ranted.

"More like we cooked up enough hotdogs." Willow muttered to Pam, who simply laughed in response.

"So shoot for the stars, okay? Alright, the team that eats the most hotdogs in ten minutes will be declared the winner. On your mark, get set..."

"Can I have a turkey burger?" Kelly asked, pointing to a singular turkey burger in front of Michael.

"No, I have the only one. I claimed it. Ready?"

"Turkey is a healthy meat." Oscar stated.

"It's very good for you." Dwight added, earning a small smile from Willow.

"Guys, guys, guys. Come on! Please let's just... okay, it's very important that you all try to eat as many hot dogs as you can. On your mark. Get set. Eat!" Michael called out. Everyone began scrambling for the hot dogs to begin eating.

"Is there any mustard?" Phyllis asked.

"No mustard, no mustard. Just eat it, Phyllis. Dip it in the water so it'll slide down your gullet more easily."

"That's what she said!" Everyone joked.

"Oh no, no, no! Not that... Come on you guys, let's do it! Come on, the winner gets a big, big prize!"

"What is it?" Meredith inquired, her mouth full.

"I can't say."

"You can't say, or you can't pronounce it?" Jim quipped.

"The winner gets a regional manager's salary for a year, and a Sebring, and the feeling that they are making a difference in the world."

"Can we just take those first two things?" Kelly asked.

"The winner of today gets my job. Okay? I'm interviewing for a job at corporate. And they're only interviewing a handful of people and I'm the most qualified and I'll probably get it. Alright?" 

"Whoa!" Willow exclaimed.

"You're leaving?" Dwight asked, sadness lacing his tone. Willow wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug.

"I didn't want to tell you anyway. I didn't want to cast a pall over our fun beach day. But you know what? I don't know who to recommend because frankly, nobody is stepping up." Michael said.

"I am so hungry!" Andy shouted, quickly grabbing a hot dog.

"Do you expect me to believe that you're truly making your recommendations on this basis?" Stanley grumbled.

"Word." Michael declared. With that, Stanley began mirroring Andy's enthusiasm by taking and eating hot dogs quickly.

♡

The tomfoolery that was the hot dog eating contest ended with Andy as the winner. Poor Dwight was distraught by this and stomped off to wherever as a result. Willow quickly ran after him, worried sick. 

She walked over to one of the more secluded areas and saw Dwight sitting on a boulder, sulking. The sight broke her heart. She quickly ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. 

Dwight tensed a little before realizing that his girlfriend was hugging him. He invited her to sit next to him on the rock and quickly put his arm around her, pulling her close.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, tracing unintelligible shapes around Dwight's back. He groaned softly as he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"It's these damn games. First, the damn temp messed up the egg race thing then Andy won the hot dog contest! Face it, I'm never gonna get the job." Dwight complained. 

"Hey, don't say that, honey. I mean, Michael shouldn't determine this by silly beach games but... you're one of the most qualified for this job." Willow smiled as she gave her boyfriend a kiss.

"More than Jim?" Dwight asked, hopeful.

"Hush. You're both better than Andy anyway." 

"True," Dwight sighed as he locked eyes with Willow. "It's just frustrating, is all."

"Don't worry, honey. I l-"

"Let's go back."

"Okay."

Dwight hopped off the rock and took Willow by the hand, leading her back to the main area of the beach. She smiled sadly to herself as she followed him there. Admittedly she was a bit upset that she was unable to confess her love to him, but it was sort of a relief since Dwight already had a lot on his plate at the moment. 

'Soon, Willow. Soon.' Willow reassured herself.

♡

Later in the night, Michael gathered everyone together in front of a large pit of flaming rocks.

"What does a great manager need most of all? Courage." Michael declared.

"How so? I mean... sure thing, that sounds smart- I can't do this anymore! I'm goin' to sit in the bus." Stanley grumbled as he walked off toward the bus.

"Your loss, Stanley. Meanwhile, the rest of us will have a super fun time defeating our fear and creating a lasting memory. Walking through fire!" Michael boomed, opening his arms to gesture toward the blazing earth.

"Oh no." Willow gasped.

"Who among you has the guts to replace me? Let him walk across these coals."

"I'm gonna do it. And I fully expect to burn my feet and go to the hospital. That's the right spirit when doing a coal walk, right?" Pam volunteered. Willow let out a cheer as Pam began to walk toward the coals.

"No. No, not you, Pam. You have to keep score."

"I'd like to try it."

"Pointless."

"But I'm not kidding. I really want to do it."

"Blah, blah, blee blup, blup, okay? This is about guts. It takes guts to be a regional manager. Jim, you're up." 

"Nope." Jim said flatly.

"Wha- why not? C'mon."

"Oh, 'cause I don't want my feet to get burned."

"You do not have what it takes to be a regional manager."

"That's harsh."

"Who's next? Andy? Where's Andy? Andy is never here today."

"Why don't you go, Michael?" Kevin asked.

"Because I already did. Remember? I burned my foot on a George Foreman grill." 

"That doesn't count, Michael." Willow pointed out.

"Exactly. If you're going to ask other people to do it, you should do it yourself." Jim added, earning a nudge from his sister.

"Alright, okay. Alright, fine." Michael lifted his foot over the coals before taking a couple of steps back, scared out of his mind. He repeated the action a couple more times before ultimately backing away.

"Do you want us to count to three?" Pam asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, count to three, please." Michael pleaded.

"Three, two, one." the group announced.

"Count the other way. Count... no, no, count 'one, two, three,' not 'three, two, one.'" 

"One. Two. Three! Go! Do it! Go, Michael." everyone repeated. Michael stayed frozen in place even after the countdown.

"Wait! Am I going on go? Or am I going on three?" the boss asked. Willow groaned and rolled her eyes.

"On the go that's after three." Creed said.

"One, two, three, go!" Again, Michael did not take a step onto the coals.

"NO! It's okay. I will do this, Michael. I will walk on these coals until you reward me the position of regional manager!" Dwight boomed, walking toward the coals. "And I will stand on these coals for the woman I love!" He pointed to Willow as he took his first step onto the burning earth.

Everyone turned to Willow surprised. She stood there in shock at Dwight's sudden confession. She felt herself tear up with joy, grateful that Dwight did in fact reciprocate her feelings of love. Two lone tears streamed down her flushed face as she uttered the three words she longed to say for a while.

"I love you too."

Everyone cheered as Dwight continued to walk around the coals. Jim and Pam took Willow into their arms for a quick group hug before she quickly broke away to rescue Dwight from the coals. She pulled him off the ground and yanked him in her direction. This worked, but it resulted in Dwight falling over. He toppled over onto his girlfriend, letting out a loud 'oof' in the process. Willow giggled as she locked eyes with Dwight.

"I love you!" Willow gushed, placing her left hand onto his left cheek.

"I love you too!" Dwight smiled as he pulled her into a kiss. The group cheered as they pulled away, equally giddy smiles on their faces.

"Y'know something? I can handle your undivided attention. And I love it."

"You're probably the only one that can, my love." Dwight kissed her once again. And that kiss meant the entire world to both of them.

♡

━━━━STARRY SPEAKS!
aaaand here's act two! thank
you all so much for reading!
i had such an amazing time
writing this fic and i am so
grateful for all of your votes,
comments and support! <3
look forward to an epilogue!